The tribe is taking a route directly through mountain valleys to the coast. While the unfamiliar territory has its dangers, this saves them weeks over the longer round trip through the jungle - and hopefully takes them past an old Rumi Runa city that has not been converted into a temple.

What happened

• hunters encountered a giant snow serpent with primal power
  • it seemed to possess a certain intelligence, able to communicate to a degree
  • the snake was slain, it should provide a lot of meat for the tribe, plus valuable skin and teeth
• hunters spotted human footprints in the snow - barefoot
• the party found a dead chosen, killed by the snow snake - but it had been horribly transfigured, its skin stonelike
• the tribe crossed a high pass with strong winds, where the party again proved instrumental to success
• the tribe is struggling with the cold, in particular at nights and due to its lack of shelter
• the party prevented Cuetspalli, a horribly transfigured Chosen of Sinchi Uruq, from killing a gaint Condor that can increase the weight of objects; they have started befriending the Condor

What they learned

• it has been a long time since the tribe encountered one of the primal beasts
  • so far, hunting them (and apparently draining them of their power) has been the privilege of the Chosen
  • they are more numerous away from the temples - might they be growing in number again now that so many gods are gone?
• there was a Chosen of Sinchi Uruq here, transformed into part stone; he was killed trying to drain the Snow Serpent
• there is another Chosen of Sinchi Uruq here; its torsto is hollowed out and houses a blizzard; it is very haughty and unfriendly and seems to be hunting beasts the Condor
• the central valley (the one that houses the ruins) is much more lush than other valleys; this is not due to temperature, it's just as cold here